The removal of contamination from fluids which are being pumped through duct work is essential to avoid clogging of the pipes by the contamination and more importantly to avoid damage to pump components. Further, the fluid if it be a petroleum distillant needs to be purified in order that it may adequately serve as a lubricant or as a fuel.
Filters typically have an element to which the contaminants adhere or are trapped. These elements are housed in an enclosure which is sealed and through which the liquid flows. The filter element as it becomes increasingly saturated with contaminants becomes impervious for the fluid flow. Filters must therefore be periodically cleaned or replaced.
Early filters were typically removed, cleaned and replaced. Filters of this type are also known as strainers and are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,616,577 to J. T. Janette and U.S. Pat. No. 1,647,799 to F. L. Hammer.
Modern filters are typically removed, discarded and replaced with a new filter. These filters, also known as cartridge type filters, are much more convenient in that they do not require cleaning of a replaceable filter and greatly reduce the filter change time in that the filter need not be cleaned and coincidentally decrease the amount of time that the oil filtration system is inoperable.
These cartridge type filters typically consist of a cylindrically shaped filtering structure supporting a filter media that is composed mostly of a paper substance that is folded accordion style. The filter is typically cylindrical in shape with a cylindrical hole centrally located in the filter. A central perforated tube made of a durable material such as metal or plastic serves to provide support to the filter and also to provide a means for which the fluid may progress from or progress to during the filtration process. An upper and lower cover are affixed to the ends of the filter and are connected to the perforated tube in order to provide sufficient support to and confine the filter media.
Many fluids which are filtered, such as petroleum distillants, pose various ecological problems to the environment and as such their disposal must be appropriately administered.
Typically the petroleum distillant fluid must be separated from the contaminated filter. The presence of the durable perforated center tube makes the removal of the fluid from the filter more difficult. A large expensive press must be used to compress the filter. While the paper element is manufactured from a renewable resource, namely trees, the perforated tube is made from a nonrenewable resource, namely plastic or metals. The existence of a disposable durable perforated tube created therefore further ecological problems.
During removal of the filter element contaminated fluids may spill from the housing containing the fluid and contaminate the area. The spilling is aggravated by the vacuum that can be created between the filter and the filter housing as the filter is lifted upward in a vertical direction the added fluid therefore spills over the outer edges of the housing.
The present invention is directed toward overcoming one or more of the problems discussed above.